If I surveyed our readers for the top Mother’s Day gift, I venture to guess it would be one of the three top nationally ranked gifts: special flowers, an eloquent card or a family meal shared together.
Pat Lipps and Elsebet Patel are in-laws connected by the marriage of Pat’s son, Mike, and Elsebet’s daughter, Catherine, and these moms probably received one or more of the highly ranked Mother’s Day gifts I mentioned.
However, their additional Mother’s Day gift last year was an all-expense paid trip for the two mothers to Denmark in the fall of 2022 where the women traveled together for a trip of a lifetime.
No wait, how about another trip of a lifetime this July into August when Mike and Catherine Artman took the two mothers on what Pat calls “just a family vacation” but this vacation was to travel with three generations for multiple nights to both Florence and Venice before boarding a 7-day Greek cruise. I am sure they never suspected Knox the Fox was tagging along.
Pat says she was asked what her favorite place was and her response, “How can I choose when the whole adventure was an extraordinary trip making memories with my family.”
Penitent Magdalene by Donatello in Florence
Pat recounts how they all marveled at the works of art in Florence’s Plaza di Santa Croce. She was so impressed with the Penitent Magdalene, a wooden sculpture of Mary Magdalene by Donatello placed right in front of the statue of the crucifixion.
Doors with panels of Biblical stories
Also memorable, she says were the encased doors where each panel was engraved with a Biblical story.
Venice didn’t disappoint with river taxis for transportation and the Leonardo da Vinci Museum in Campo San Barnaba.
Four days of their seven-day cruise were spent on shore visiting Croatia, Mykonos, Greece, Santorini and Dubrovnik.
Santorini was a favorite of all due to the beauty from the hilltops and of course the wine tasting at G. Koutsoyannopoulos Winery and Museum.
In Athens, the hottest day was 105 when the younger crew climbed up to the Parthenon ancient ruins while the others stayed cool and enjoyed the hike vicariously through photos.
The three generations and Knox the Fox at the winery and museum in Santorin
“It was an amazing adventure, exhausting and hot, but never ever can I thank my son and his wife for their generosity of including me and the other grandmother in their family trips, making memories,” praises Pat Lipps.
I love an excuse to sneak my counterpart, Knox the Fox, on these fascinating trips and this one sounded like it was truly a once-in-a-lifetime adventure.
All of us have a story and I want to tell yours! Send them to susan@knoxtntoday.com